Show Notes: -Preparedness meets lucky opportunities - Middle school teacher turned Instructional Collaborator via Jim Knight. -Working with adults with a lot of trial and a lot of error. Found that the behavior management system was getting in the way of us doing instructional coaching. Behavior is where my life is at and I was a Tier 3 student in school. -C.H.A.M.P.S. - Conversation. Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, Success. Think about different modes of learning throughout the learning day. That is one portion of a really comprehensive behavior management plan is your expectations for instructional activities. -Moving toward and a real emphasis on the S.T.O.I.C framework. S.T.O.I.C. is a culmination of all the variables of some level of power and control over. How do we set up a system of observation to provide feedback to children? An umbrella under which C.H.A.M.P.S. belongs. -All the acronyms - We need to clarify and unpack all the packages of those acronyms for our new teachers and all of us. We need to find a way to navigate through them fluidly to best serve the needs of our kids and educators. -Creating a system or framework of support for all staff. We want teachers to apply it in order to have an unmistakable impact. Truly MTSS as leaders and coaches- comprised of both evaluators and non evaluators to create that for staff. Let leadership teams proactively build that support for staff. -Behavior support is an underpinning to good instruction. However if you have good instruction that may eliminate many big behavioral issues within your classroom. How to leverage Coaches within Tier 1? Where are we having system challenges? Systemic change is the key to change over time. -Interdependence between honoring your administration, your system goals, and your educators, “How do we navigate this system rich environment?” How do I actively engage this group of kids? - Can you create a sense of urgency without a sense of overwhelm? Is that possible? What are the small steps? What were the expectations not being met? -If you were to coach someone who was going into coaching and you could only say what you could say, what would you say? -Lets look at the system in which coaching was occurring. - If you were to say someone was headed into coaching and they had one hard thing to face, what would you tell them? How do you find the interdependence between balancing administration and system goals while honoring them, as well as the teacher in front of you and respecting the finesse, and nuance to help each other all see each other’s perspective and build that remarkable synergy? -Validate all entities, and rock the boat, while staying in it. What are our true beliefs? What are those really big challenges? How might we master the communication challenges to make that happen? We have much more in common than we have in different. Shut off the advice monster. -You have to suspend the idea that you have all the answers to push forward. - We do the best we can. Of course it is difficult to receive constructive feedback of any kind” : we have to stop thinking of ourselves as perfect entities. If we think of ourselves as “goodish entities” then we are on the right path!” -Stop solving, start asking, efficacy! Our goal is to bring out the efficacy in others. Stop solving, start asking. -STOIC Screener in the book to help provide that data as a third point in a coaching conversation. How to coach various different coaching situations. -It is not us, it is always them. You took the tools, ran and put them into place. Small changes made such a huge difference. Use a solid research based approach through a coaching dialogue. -Hold the individual and the system all in one is pivotal. -Meet attack with inquiry. -We tried. Master the starfish effect. Make a difference to that one. The day to day wins have to be enough to sustain you. Connect with Tricia: safeandcivilschools.com
Sherry St. Clair is the founder of Reflective Learning LLC, an educational consulting agency based in Kentucky. Her organization works with schools around the world, creating specialized training and coaching services for school administrators and educators. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Leadership and a Rank 1 in Instructional Supervision. Sherry has served as a Senior Consultant for the International Center for Leadership in Education and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. As an international consultant, Sherry draws from her rich experience at various levels of public education–teaching elementary school, being an administrator in a high school of 1,300 students, working as a state consultant, and creating and facilitating virtual courses. Sherry is a highly regarded national speaker and consultant, providing educational agencies with expertise in instructional leadership, effective classroom practices, classroom walkthroughs, effective use of data, and guidance on how to create structures for successful classroom coaching. Coaching schools to best meet the needs of all students is Sherry’s passion. Sherry is a contributing author to Effective Instructional Strategies Volume 2 published by the International Center for Leadership in Education and 100 No-Nonsense Things that All Teachers Should Stop Doing. She has published numerous professional learning activity guides and facilitated webinar series focused on leadership and effective instructional practices. Additionally, Sherry developed virtual instructional workshops for the CTE Technical Assistance Center of New York. In partnership with the Successful Practices Network, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and The School Superintendent Association (AASA), Sherry has recently been a part of bringing innovative practices to scale. Her publication, Coaching Redefined: A Guide to Leading Meaningful Instructional Growth, was released in June of 2019. Show Notes: -Intentional coaching is to help both teachers and coaches think about the intentional steps needed to grow in a given area. -Take smaller steps towards those big goals and be intentional with those steps. What is one small change you can make? Go on a journey to grow from where we are and keep moving forward. -Student discourse- If we don't have student discourse in a classroom then where do we start? If we have a little, how do we start? The book's purpose is to look at what is out there in research around proven ways for students to learn and think about how we can help teachers implement those effectively in their classrooms. -Students need to feel safe and have time for those academic conversations. Coaches need to think of the small incremental steps a t teacher can do to meet the true student discourse and big gains in student learning. -When we don't layer on so many things on our teachers' plates and instead have an intentional focus on those small steps, we see huge growth. -Coaches have to be a filter for things happening within their school system and it is truly an honor. You have to keep in mind the broader goals of the school. How do I pull all of that together? -We only keep trying to get better and better. Just keep swimming. Let it go. Shake it off. Just keep moving forward. Just keep improving a little bit more each day. There are some days you can run fast towards your goal. There are some days you can walk towards it. And there are some days you need to just rest. And it is all about moving forward. -Be mindful of the listening tour as a coaching superpower. Being female is powerful. We are compassionate as instructional leaders. -Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose Connect with Sherry: Website: Reflective Learning, LLC Twitter: @Sherrystclair Facebook: Sherry St Clair Instagram: Sherryst.clair
Leading Impact Teams: Building a Culture of Efficacy and Agency -New book - we wanted to share more of the explicit ‘how', as well as making sure equity is up front and present in this edition. It is infused with culturally responsive sustaining education practices that are asset based, where we look at assessments through the theme of culture. We all have different cultures and are coming together in a classroom. We can honor the cultures of the different people within our classrooms or we can deny them and assimilate and be one. It is better if we honor each person's cultural backgrounds and we make more connections and we learn more. -What is inquiry? What is it and what is it not? If we want our students to have agency, then our teachers have to have agency too, all while meeting school goals but having flexibility. How are we going to contribute back to where and how we learn? -At Core Collaborative we practice what we teach. We are always learning and reflecting. We are taking input from so many different sources, a massive learning community. -Efficacy’s 4 sources: safety, models of success/success criteria, feedback, and mastery moments. Agency is the opportunity and ability to take control of your own life. To make decisions that help yourselves and help others. Looking towards collective teacher efficacy. -Teachers have influence and agency over their classroom. Goal consensus, teachers gathering with the principal. Are we actually looking at the data collaboratively together, brain storming what our goals could be as teachers, and creating those goals collectively? Having cohesion, where are we going three years from now? We need agency over what we are doing within our schools. Are our interventions quality? Self efficacy moving to teacher collective efficacy. -Design thinking to enhance PLC work. Starts with the core, empathizing with your client- your students, parents, and teachers. We started doing a lot more empathetic interviews to be better and be able to understand the root cause of the problem because we were talking to the people who the problem mostly impacted. Empathy and prototyping phases really set this inquiry apart. This work really excelled our work within high school PLCs. -We have to honor parents on their terms, honor their culture and the way they see education. We need not to make it about what we need, but about what do you need? What can we do better for you? - As educators, we need to acknowledge the cultural strengths that kids already have. These strengths can be used as a source of knowledge to build from. The asset based approach is vital. -They are already whole. We have to speak about them as whole people. No one in the room is broken, you all are totally whole. The system is broken. The more that we look at our deficits, the more we find. -Learning is a partnership and it happens socially before it happens academically. At the heart of the model is to develop self empowered learners and that is another way to think of agency. Students who are able to live in the world with a belief that they can have an impact on their lives and the lives of others with the power and spirit to take chances and try that. -Teaching kids how to learn to learn.The better you understand yourself, the better you are able to understand others. Connect with Peter and Isaac: www.thecorecollaborative.com @thesocialcore or @corecollaborative Facebook - Search Leading Impact Team
-Building thinking classrooms- around the notion that students spend time in classrooms not thinking. Many structures are not designed for thinking, and instead conformity and compliance. 15 years of research before the book, and the research continues. -One of the least conducive places to have students do thinking is at their seat writing in their notebook, but one of the most conducive spaces for students to do thinking, is standing in random groups of three, at a whiteboard or something vertical and erasable. It is about getting them up and thinking. -Task in relation to the student. If we want our students to think we have to give them something to think about. To be a thinking task it needs a particular relationship to the student. -The whiteboard is a better space for that thinking to manifest. Everyone has to be able to access the task. -White board- Everyone oriented with the work the same way, they can see other students’ progress, I can access their learning more readily, I as the teacher can intervene right now. Standing is just so much better than sitting. When students are sitting they feel anonymous. The further from the student, the more anonymity. When they feel anonymous they are more disengaged. -More engagement from a question if written on a white board, as opposed to printed on a paper. -You have five minutes. They are with you on your feet and talking to each other. Research shows beyond five minutes, the more passive students become and the transition to being an active learner is a harder transition. - In a thinking classroom you say the minimum possible to start question number one. Then we can give them another question and another. We can never unsay what we say at the beginning. The moment we tell them how to do it, we have sucked the thinking out of the task. Need to bring order to their thoughts. -Mimicking: Template for exactly how to do this problem. Mimicking is not the same as thinking or learning. It is mastering or memorizing routines that they truly need to make meaning with. Students take the process and plug it into the template teachers present. Mimicking always runs out. How do we break these habits? How do we help students and ourselves break these habits? We have to break the habit ourselves and then support them and give them successes. -Students don't listen to what we say, they listen to what we do. When teachers are too perfect, students try to be too perfect. - I can’t hear what you are saying, your actions are too loud. -Divergent vs. convergent thinking - Gallery walk. The teacher is the guide and we are taking a tour. We are going to look at little portions of the boards. Present the tentative learning with students. Others talk about the board work, we invite them to think about it and draw conjectures about what it is, and then that creates a thinking discussion about this and engage in a variety of different boards this way. Are they thinking? - We are the educators, we are creating the experience. We are very deliberate about what that experience is. -Random groups - creates a space where students can actually learn from each other. Random groups is the engine to make all of this work. -How can I help teachers’ notice things? -Try to pull from teachers something that is absolutely positive about what they already do. What is the best lesson you ever taught? How do we amplify their successes instead of the urgency of the immediate? Connect with Peter: Buildingthinkingclassrooms.com Facebook: Groups→ Search “Building Thinking Classrooms” and find your group 50+
Gretchen is a National Board certified elementary school teacher from Charlotte, NC. In 2006, Gretchen received her bachelor’s degree at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. In 2010, she received her master’s degree in Curriculum and Supervision from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Gretchen taught grades 2, 3, and 5 before transitioning into the role of a New Teacher Development Coach for The New Teacher Project [TNTP]. During this time, she also published her first book for new teachers called “Elementary EDUC 101: What They Didn’t Teach You in College” to help prepare future teachers for the realities of life in the classroom. For more than a decade, Gretchen has passionately mentored and coached educators, led professional development experiences for school building staff, and presented at district and national conferences as the owner of Always A Lesson. Her impact continues to amplify serving educators worldwide through her blog, Empowering Educators podcast, classroom resources, professional development courses and personalized coaching opportunities. She has since co-authored a book with over a dozen other elite educators called “Teachers Who Know What To Do- Experts In Education” to share proven strategies that transform classrooms and leaders around the world as well as written her third book “Always A Lesson: Teacher Essentials for Classroom & Career Success” that comes out Spring 2024. Whether you’re teaching a lesson or learning one yourself, there’s Always A Lesson. Show Notes: -Strategies for super collaborative relationships, being an actual coach, under your leadership, and with your style. -Time and consistency are key- -What worked in coaching? What can we replicate? -Coaching debriefs: no tangents, time-stamp, be open and honest. We are protecting our time. -That was a textbook example- super focus. You have to keep laser focus. Know what you are trying to accomplish and keep it consistent. Always connect it to the evaluation rubric. -Name the thing that you notice, and add one thing they can do to improve it. The important piece is to reflect on what happened, and also name one thing to improve it! -Transparency and understanding that we are both learners is so huge! 4 aspects of instruction and order matters, pay attention to the sequencing. Lesson design as opposed to lesson planning. Do you do them consistently at a high level? Logistics and details? -Get to know your teachers and see where they are at? Please be present in the building. Be aware of the culture, keep tracking, and build in results. If you can set the system up for yourself, especially in a quantifiable way, make sure to show your impact! -GO BE GREAT! - You are now empowered more than before!!! Do it and do it well! -Truly listen and ask deep questions. Connect with Gretchen: Alwaysalesson.com New Book Coming Soon: Teacher Essentials for Classroom and Career Success
Adam Geller is the founder of Edthena and author of Evidence-Based Practice. He started his career in education as a science teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2011, Adam has overseen the evolution of Edthena from a paper-based prototype into a research-informed and patented platform used by schools, districts, teacher training programs, and professional development providers.
Adam has written on educational technology topics from various publications, including Education Week, Forbes, and EdSurge. He has been an invited speaker about educational technology and teacher training for conferences at home and abroad.
AI Coaching is a video on the left, and the AI Coach acts as a guide on the side to help teachers observe themselves. It is a (chat style of communication), not telling a teacher what to do, but rather asking questions and opening the doors so that they can walk through them and learn about themselves.
Lack of bias with AI Coach, never switches from facilitative to directive coaching.
This is the coaching that can happen between real life coaching. It helps to empower educators to own their own professional growth.
The coaching conversation can start and stop as needed for the educator who is investing in coaching. A real pause button.
Double take moment for Adam: Survey information was presented, a 30-year veteran, was skeptical and was also impressed with the process and learned about her students in her classroom.
“Ah- ha,” moments analyzing video - seeing the things we don't see. It highlights the true goal of professional learning. We all want to continually increase effectiveness. The power of this tool is huge and given what they have been asking for all the time.
-Continuous improvement over time… improve small nuances.
Creating a place of safety for those teachers and professional learning contacts and coaching contacts. Creating a private space.
I am human and I have opportunities to be better. AI is impartial and has no bias.
Challenges- how do leaders ask to have AI-powered tools in our schools or classrooms? How are these moderated? How are these being implemented?
It is asking me questions as opposed to telling me what to do.
Personalization of PD - In-person and AI Coach
Edthena - AI Coach - what is coming for the next decade?
It is coming, ... Subject-specific, Pedagogically sound, questioning related exact things happening in that classroom?
Respect teachers as professional adults, and learners as well as give them a lot of agency!
Learner Agency: A Field Guide for Taking Flight is a boots-on-the-ground resource for those who wish to foster greater agency for students and adults alike within their classroom, school, or school system. Written by practitioners who have experienced the triumphs and struggles first-hand, the book offers a framework for moving from building knowledge to making meaning and applying the understanding of practices and systems that support agency.
-Aspired to write this book based on our common work within a district where the three authors came together. Our hope with agency is for students to understand themselves as learners, build their identity as a learner, and learn what to do when they don't know what to do, as well as learn what to do with a bit of independence and understanding they need to move it forward. Kids need time and practice! Fail, learn, and get up and try again! That was the fuel of this project. -Building a recipe to accelerate learning. We wanted to share the experience and spread the word around what we found that worked. Everytime we shared it worked for them too. We wanted to bring thar food for thought, and how do we reframe what learning should look like, when we have the opportunity.. -COVID has taught us to think more about our learners. To think about who is in the seat and their means they need to learn anything. How to learn and the dispositions they need in this ever changing world. - Push learners to the deep! We have to be ok with that. We need dialogue and discourse. -We need clarity about what success is? What does it look and sound like? -When kids have clarity about what is expected of them they are much more likely to take on a challenge and their anxiety goes down. -Let us know what good learners do. -What will this look and sound like in my classroom? -Secret Sauce: Accountability with students and what they were learning. Where are you, where are you going, what do you do when you are stuck? -The heart of the student agency is building efficiency at every level. -Mindset shift - get stuck and unstuck all the time. -Honor the learning process = the more successful the learning is. -Sharing your story is so important. -Does a learner know where they are and speak to this? -Mastery moments with upward spirals. -Tell your story to build capacity. -Does it align with your graduate profile? -Celebrate every step of progress! -Dialogue and discourse. -Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Permission to ask questions that are hard. wE have permission to try another way. We have permission to give ourselves time to learn something, before we have to do it. -Mastery Moments -We are doing so much right, and we need to fixate on that, not the small errors along the way -If we shift our focus, everything shifts! -Celebrate the wins. -Permission needs to be granted. What are you learning? And what does that look like? Does the learner know what that looks like? -You are changing outputs not inputs. Connect with the authors: @TheSocialCore@MimiToddPress -Afirm, push, inspire to make a difference in the life of learners - Katie Martin! -Be the learner, you want all to be! -Mastery moments happen, celebrate! -Still, I am learning. -Listen authentically and give authentic feedback. -Listen. Ask questions to get to listen. -Listening to hear. If we listen to hear some key things it can help us. Can we hear the intent, the feelings, passions, or their purpose? What makes them want to change? Listen, Listen, Listen!
Suzanne Dailey is an instructional coach in the Central Bucks School District, where she has the honor and joy of working with over 500 elementary teachers and 8,000 students. She teaches model lessons, facilitates professional development sessions, and mentors teachers to be the best for the students in front of them. Suzanne is Nationally Board Certified, a fellow of the National Writing Project, and has a Masters Degree in Reading. She is dedicated to nurturing and developing the whole child and teacher and presents these topics at a local, state, and national level. Suzanne is the author of Teach Happier this School Year: 40 Weeks of Inspiration & Reflection and the host of the popular weekly podcast, Teach Happier.
-Suzanne has spent 10 years as an instructional coach. She coaches over 500 educators in 15 elementary sites, currently. Prior to that, she was a 4th grade educator and a reading specialist. -”As an instructional coach I get to impact more students, by impacting their teachers. Knowing that there are really big ripple effects happening between fifteen buildings is a huge responsibility but also such a wonderful privilege and opportunity each day. No two days are the same but I feel the impact is more widespread.” -Professional Development and Personal Development - teachers need personal development. We need to affirm who we are, and what we need, as the person behind whatever our role is. -Teachers are not superheroes, we are real humans who need to take care of our own selves and families at home, before we can really show up beautifully for kids. -Approach tasks in the two pronged approach of personal development and professional development. -Adaptations have been so huge since March 2020 - look at that list, but look at the trends that will move us forward! -Science of Reading- small tweaks to make our instruction so much more impactful. Phonics explicitly and systematically - building readers! -Knowing more, so we get to be a little bit better for the kids in front of us! -Student and teacher wellness- student and teacher readiness. -Small shifts, Big gifts - Teach Happier. -What is in your diet? - What podcasts are in your ears? What news feeds are in front of our faces? What can we control and navigate with small shifts? What is within our realm of influence? -How might we celebrate our brand new teachers in a similar way to our retirees? We all have fought through the year, how might we make everyone feel acknowledged? How do we overtly honor and acknowledge teachers making it through their first year? -How do we get someone from, year one to year 30? -Do your work and also, gather yourself beyond the role. -Every year is a huge journey! Honor that all the way through! -Conscious Acts of Kindness -”I don’t know if I’ve done enough!” - Master Teacher - Goes to show no matter how great we are, no matter how impactful as teachers we are, we carry so much with us as teachers. And that emotional lift, day in and day out, is a real thing. But I think it is finally being acknowledged and we are getting a little more space to share that.” -When we know we have each other, that is the key to gaining and retaining great educators! - People, People, People - are we seeing the person behind the student, teacher, educators, or administrator? How can we flex? -Little shifts of language - as inclusive as possible - I can’t wait to work together…we, us, let’s - just softens every interaction. -HAVE A WONDERFUL SCHOOL YEAR!
Connect with Suzanne: Twitter: @DaileySuzanne https://suzannedailey.com/ https://suzannedailey.com/podcast
Season 4
Nita Creekmore is an Instructional Coach who lives just outside Atlanta, GA. In the 19 years, she has been in education, she truly believes that in all aspects of the field, relationships must always come first. She has obtained a Bachelor’s in English, Master’s in Elementary Education, and Educational Specialist in Supervision & Leadership. She currently works for Bright Morning Consulting as a Presenter. Nita is also an Instructional Coach Consultant through her business, Love Teach Bless, LLC. Nita is married to Michael Creekmore, Jr., and has four children. In her free time, she loves spending time with her family and friends, attending her kids' activities, practicing yoga, and relaxing with a good book.
Episode Notes: -Coaching is embedded professional development that is transformational. Coaching is supportive, it is being in community with one another, but also learning as a coach alongside the coachee. -Reflection starts with yourself. The coach needs to self-reflect and build a relationship to build space for vulnerability in order to do deep reflection. The things you ask your coachees to do, you should do every day as well. Use journaling and coaching conversations with yourself to do that reflection work. -Reflection with educators can be stretched with the conversation with a coach. There needs to be a lot of trust and relationships built to make this successful. What emotions are coming up for you? What did you feel like in the observation? What constitutes joy for you in teaching? - The 5 Whys - use these to deepen the reflection. -If you do not have a coach, you can use your team to reflect. You can even dig into the 5 whys with yourself. Try to elicit the reflection. Offer yourself grace and self-compassion. Try celebratory reflection! -Closeout conversations, having the space to reflect on their big wins or their goals for moving forward. These are so important to tie up the year and think through the areas that they felt that they were winning and trying to grow more in. Coaches can also do this for themselves on paper in order to reflect for themselves to become even more transformational as a coach. -Inspired Educators, Inspire Educators -When you think that you are having a teacher that you cannot reach, always go back to yourself and look at how you are showing up. And also look at how you started that relationship. What could have been done differently? How can it be restored, if needed?
Keith Young is an education coach, trainer, and writer. Keith was raised in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains of northern Alabama. After a short stint at seminary, he pivoted to teaching secondary students for the U.S. government in Germany. In his first years of teaching, he developed a knack for leading and training colleagues. Eventually, Keith shifted full-time to training teachers and leading school improvement efforts at the school district level. Later, he became a principal, leading school turnaround work and regularly increasing student outcomes by double digits in Colorado, Puerto Rico, and Arizona. Along the way, Keith picked up a multiplicity of advanced education degrees. Nowadays, Keith lives on the coast of South Carolina and trains and coaches administrators, school leadership teams, and teacher coaches. As a coach, he’s known for “telling it like it is” and using a blended coaching model. The schools Keith coaches across the United States and internationally produce significant increases in student outcomes academically and affectively.
Episode Notes: -Keith has a varied background and is in about 1,000 classrooms a year coaching educators, modeling coaching with coaches, as well as modeling coaching for administrators and doing model lessons with students. -What is a coach? - A coach is a professional who prompts a teacher, trains a teacher, or instructs a teacher. Think of your piano teacher, your baseball, or gymnastic coach. Those effective practices inform our coaching. -The Instructional Coaching Handbook: A one stop shop to look at those trouble spots in coaching. Give ideas, try, and see what works! It is a place to grab ideas around anything troubling you in coaching. -Knight, Aguilar, and Marzano were pulled from and influenced these amazing authors. -Coaching is about empowering educators, this is for your whole life. This is for the whole generation of students you teach. -Dot and circle analogy- focus on what you can control. -Teach teachers to curate- curate a strategy to get past this hardest to teach ideas, concepts, and skills. -Coaching is a professional conversation with a goal and don’t forget to be kind. -Brainstorming is a super power.
Starr Sackstein has been an educator for 20 years and is currently a full-time educational consultant, instructional coach, and speaker. Starr received National Board Certification in 2012 and was recognized as an outstanding educator that year by Education Update. Association and served as the New York State Director for JEA. She was named an ASCD "Emerging Leader" class of 2016 and had the opportunity to give a TEDx Talk called "A Recovering Perfectionist's Journey to Give Up Grades" and has spoken on The Red Dot Cafe in affiliation with TEDx San Antonio about grading practices. She is the author of many educational books She also blogs on Education Week Teacher at "Work in Progress" and has contributed to several other publications.
Episode Notes: -When you are deciding whether to take on a leadership role, make a pros and cons list. What are you most afraid of losing? What are the things you love? Evaluate what is important to you. -If you are ready to leap to leadership, put on your best face when interviewing. Just as they are interviewing you, you are interviewing them to see if it is a good fit. Try to ask a lot of strategic questions when you interview. Just because you interviewed, it does not mean you have to accept a position. Are you philosophically aligned with the role you are moving into? Find a home that is a good fit, do not worry about damaging your future by making a move in your career. -You will likely hit a state of overwhelm when you move to a leadership role. Be ready with an open mind and utilize others as your teachers. Be mindful of what you say and how you say it. Build relationships and listen first. -You know you are making an impact when the early adopters are taking you up on your offers to coach or collaborate. -You can still be a leader within the classroom: mentor, join a committee, be a coach, state run or regional organizations, Find your own way to lead at your site! -Be mindful of how and when you share information as a coach. Apologize when you make a mistake, be clear and own your actions. -Changing the world one mind at a time!
Michelle Harris, Senior Consultant at Instructional Coaching Group (ICG) has spent almost three decades as an educator, starting as a Special Education Paraprofessional in Salt Lake City, Utah before completing her Masters in Teaching at Pacific University and teaching middle school in El Cajon, CA and Beaverton, OR. She served as an instructional coach for teachers and students in a comprehensive 6-8 middle school as well as a K-8 school. She then became an administrator in a 6-12 IB school, and two comprehensive 6-8 middle schools. Michelle is a seasoned staff developer, certified in multiple Training of the Trainer programs such as Sheltered Instruction, Data-driven Decision Making, Effective Teaching Strategies, and Non-Fiction Writing. She has worked for Jim Knight since 2012, after participating in a Coaching Study with Jim through the University of Kansas in 2009-2011, and has facilitated workshops, coached, and keynoted across the United States and Canada, as well as in multiple European countries, Asia, and Africa. Recently, Michelle partnered with Jim Knight, Sharon Thomas, and Ann Hoffman to author The Instructional Playbook: The Missing Link for Translating Research Into Practice and Evaluating Instructional Coaching: People, Programs, and Partnership.
Through ICG, Michelle facilitates workshops, coaches, and provides consulting for coaching programs around the world. She lives in Portland, OR with her husband, two sons, and three cats, and one small corgi.
Episode Notes: -Michelle has been in education for almost 30 years and was trained with Jim Knight in instructional coaching. -A coach is a partner who opens up a physiologically safe space with time for thinking, reflecting, problem solving and ultimately turning all that talk into action in the classroom, promoting change. -Sometimes in coaching there is a lack of role clarity. If you do not have clarity on what you do and how you do it within the system, it is hard to do a quality job in coaching. -Teacher evaluations do not fit coaching. -Coaches need an evaluation system that is 100 percent aligned to the outcomes we are seeking. It is critical to have role clarity as an instructional coach. -We speak about surface coaching versus deep coaching. Both are vital to the role of coaching. Surface coaching helps to build rapport and enhance your street credit. Deep coaching is the impact cycle and doing coaching cycles with educators around specific goals. -Collect data on who is coming to you and what are they asking for, what patterns are we noticing, this helps us impact PD in our buildings or systems. -Collect data on the impact cycle: where did you start? What was your goal? What strategies did you utilize? What was your end goal? How long did it take kids to meet that goal? What tweaks did you make along the way? -Collect data to show your coaching impact. Show the difference you are making. Collect that evidence of difference making. -Learning Architecture with support for the coaches is vital. -Coaching is not fixing people. We need an asset model. There should not be a stigma in education for using a coach. Think about sports: everyone uses a coach. -The practice of video recording your coaching can be such a remarkable reflective practice for growth. -Respect the sweet purity of silence.
Connect with Michelle: LinkedIn: MichelleRodgersHarris Twitter:@harrismr1
LINDSAY DEACON is a School Improvement Coach and Professional Learning Facilitator in Portland, Oregon. She earned her Master’s in Teaching and Master’s in Education & Administration from Concordia University, with a focus on urban and diverse school environments. Lindsay has worked under Dr. Jim Knight’s leadership on his Instructional Coaching team and on Professor John Hattie’s Visible Learning team at Corwin Press. Episode Notes: -Lindsay comes from a family of educators. Lindsay’s first coach was trained in Jim Knight’s Instructional Coaching and she was asked to replace her years later. She had the opportunity to go to Kansas to learn from the Instructional Coaching Group. She found her passion for coaching in this time. -Lindsay is very connected with Jim Knight's work. She also has bounced back and forth from coaching to the classroom and back again. She purposefully chose to go back to the classroom in 2020. Her definition of a coach has evolved through this time. -A coach is a collaborative partner that will help to set and meet goals. They will help to enhance teaching practices as well as student achievement. -The EduCoach Survival Guide -Eisenhower Matrix Strategy - Four quadrants, prioritize everything you have to do by urgent, not urgent, important, not important. Sticky notes for each item and put them up based on each component. WIth less priority items, think about how you can eliminate it or delegate it. Lindsay tried this tactic on a white board and made it visual for herself, students, and other staff members. -As coaches it seems like there are so many urgent or busy work requests, so we need to align our work with what is going to have a large impact. -Be clear about your role with the people you coach. Do you set coaching agreements? She highly recommends setting these in order to avoid falling into the friend zone with a coachee. -Find your network! In order to improve our practice we need our peers. Visualize, journal, and sketch what you want from your learning network. #educoach Be creative and take the lead. -The most important thing coaches can do is be listeners, be listeners to the story of what teachers are telling. -Good coaches listen and funnel the conversation with good questions. By the end, the teacher feels that they got some of the most pressing business out, but also found a plan as to what to do next. -Coach retention- What do you really love about coaching? What do you hate? Think about journaling or sketching this out. How can you adjust things to make it more about what you love? -Smile File - portfolio of things that bring you back to your coaching happy moments. -Who are we to tell anyone what they can or can’t do? Connect with Lindsay: https://educoachsurvivalguide.com/ The EduCoach Survival Guide on Instagram or Twitter Twitter: @TheRealLindsay2
Valentina Gonzalez, the co-author of Reading & Writing with English Learners: A Framework for K-5, is a longtime educator who has served 20+ years in education in her own classroom, as a district facilitator for English learners, a professional development specialist for ELs, and as a consultant. Her work’s primary focuses have been on literacy, culture, and language. Valentina delivers professional development and works with teachers of multilinguals to support language acquisition and literacy instruction.
Episode Notes: -Background as an elementary classroom teacher as well as ESL educator. She also supported ESL Teachers at their campuses as well as she is a professional development specialist. -Took a long time to learn what was best for the multilingual learners in the classroom. -Her book is Reading & Writing with English Learners: A Framework for K-5: A Framework for K-5
-It is essential to write your core beliefs as an educator no matter what content or population that you serve. Doing this as a team is powerful. Utilize those in the daily planning and align everything to those core beliefs. - Literacy in any language holds value and can be leveraged to support learning and acquiring English. -Student choice in reading and writing is essential. When we have a choice we are more motivated. -We can be most effective when we start from the heart and build from there.Center ourselves around students and what they need first. The only way to avoid assumptions is by being super curious. -We need to talk less and listen more to our students and their families. -Keep learning as much as you can about the kids, and center everything we do around those students. That is the secret sauce. -Be a listener, get them talking! -Minilessons are super effective with multilingual learners. It can increase the comprehensibility of the lesson by breaking it down into smaller chunks. We still need to have checkpoints to stop and check for understanding with our students. - Picture Word Inductive Model - learning content while also embedding speaking, listening, reading, and writing. -Stay tied to the curriculum but infuse language into the lesson as well. See and hear at the same time. -Excellence for multilingual learners does not happen by accident; we design it! We have to! -Focus on students; focus on the child! What are the kids doing?
Connect with Valentina: Twitter: @ValentinaESL Website: www.ValentinaESL.com www.ReadingwritingELs.com New book coming soon!
Matt Renwick is an elementary principal in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Previously he served as an assistant principal, athletic director, coach, and classroom teacher in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Matt was recognized as a Friend of Literacy by the Wisconsin State Reading Association in 2020 and received the Kohl Leadership Award in 2021. His books include 5 Myths About Classroom Technology: How do we integrate digital tools to truly enhance learning? (ASCD, 2016), Digital Portfolios in the Classroom: Showcasing and Assessing Student Work (ASCD, 2017), and Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H.: 5 Strategies for Supporting Teaching and Learning (Corwin, 2022). You can find Matt on Twitter @ReadbyExample. -Matt has always enjoyed coaching children and athletics. He found his way into many roles in education and fostered a strong interest in literacy as well as engagement with readers and writers. -What have I learned around literacy and leadership? This is where this book was born, Leading Like a C.O.A.C.H.: 5 Strategies for Supporting Teaching and Learning. -Educational Improvement- Matt used to have more of a linear approach. Coming into administration, he thought he could present an idea, then teachers would adopt them, and schools would improve. He realized everyone is coming from a slightly different angle as to what is best practice. It is way more complex than this. He has learned he has to engage with every teacher and build deep trust. Therefore, knowing where each teacher is and being able to work from there is the best starting point for improvement. -Instructional walks are powerful.We need to be leading as a learner, in a more reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship with faculty, which has better results with everyone's learning, including his own. -Leading like a C.O.A.C.H.- Matt likes to: Pay attention to myself and others. Be mindful of how he is feeling. Listen first and hear where they are coming from. Use paraphrasing. Shift from giving advice and needing to know everything to asking more questions, listening deeply, and being the listener first. Allow others to solve their problems when possible. C-Creating Confidence through Trust O-Organizing Around a Priority A- Affirming Promising Practices - noticing and naming strengths already present C- Communicating Feedback H- Help Teachers Become Leaders and Learners - Support self directness -Building confidence and trust is always at the forefront. When we are clear on what we are working on in order to press forward together more progression is made. -Make sure we honor the difficulties and loneliness of teaching. Be empathetic and also provide perspective. -Instructional Walks - Take a photo and put it in a brief email to follow up with that educator. It is his opportunity to build context. Write down what you see and hear as a narrative. Give that feedback from an affirming stance. - Collects the narrative and notes in a digital drive in order to show educators the wins they are having with their kids. He documents how he is in their corner, and also is able to build from moving forward. We need to recognize the good first, and then hear the feedback. We help them to create an artifact of what they do everyday and a case as to how they are effective. We share the wins they are getting with kids. Teachers also collect artifacts for themselves. -If you are recognized first you are much more receptive to feedback. -Get into classrooms and just start to document five or six words of what you noticed. Get to every classroom, then take the time to reflect on your own as an administrator, or with a coach around trends or patterns we are seeing. Then communicate these to staff. From there, we can design professional learning around those goals. This is where collective commitments can come into play and have tremendous power. -Leaders need to know literacy - Regie Routman -Pausing is the superpower. I have never gotten in trouble or made a mistake when I did not say something. It has always been when I said something and wished I could have taken it back. Connect with Matt Renwick: -Twitter: @readbyexample -Newsletter: Readbyexample.substack.com
Dr. Nathan D. Lang-Raad is an educator, speaker, and author. He is the Vice President of Strategy at Savvas Learning. Throughout his career, he has served as a teacher, elementary school administrator, high school administrator, and university adjunct professor. He was the Director of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, as well as education supervisor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. He was also the Chief Education Officer at WeVideo. He serves as the US State Ambassador for the Climate Action Project, a collaboration between the United Nations, World Wildlife Fund, NASA, and the Jane Goodall Institute, and an advisor for TAG (Take Action Global). Nathan is the author of Everyday Instructional Coaching, The New Art and Science of Teaching Mathematics co-authored with Dr. Robert Marzano, WeVideo Every Day, Mathematics Unit Planning in a PLC at Work, Instructional Coaching Connection, The Boundless Classroom (with James Witty), and The Teachers of Oz, co-authored with Herbie Raad. Nathan received a bachelor of arts degree in general science-chemistry from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, a master of education degree in administration and supervision from the University of Houston-Victoria, and a doctorate of education degree in learning organizations and strategic change from David Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. He resides with his husband, Herbie Raad, in beautiful Maine. To learn more about Nathan’s work, follow him on Twitter: @drlangraad To book Nathan’s services for keynotes and workshops, contact him at [email protected]. -Coaching is a partnership. A coach is a cheerleader and consummate listener who guides and helps to further teaching and instructional practices. -Nathan first noticed the value of a coach’s role during his first year of teaching. The experience of trust, and non-evaluative support, helped guide him though that year, paving the way forward as he grew as an educator. -To give meaningful feedback while staying non evaluative, there has to be a deep level of trust. The relationship has to be organic and build over time. The goals and purpose need to be clearly articulated. Establishing that coaches are working with you not in some sort of hierarchical position. -Building empathy comes from a place of honesty and vulnerability. The coach needs to show they do not have all the answers. Every coach is still a learner, being honest about that can help with empathy building, in large ways. There is a power in numbers, and helping teachers to not feel like they are in it alone. -Coaches can support effective team meetings by making sure they are extremely purposeful and well structured. Have meetings that have defined autonomy to accomplish agreed upon outcomes is key. There must be clear norms. Don’t meet unless there is a clear agenda and purpose for that time together. -There is this idea of success that it is the teacher or coach who never stop working. They are go, go, go! That level of productivity cannot be sustained, nor should it be. Our well being should always be the priority, meaning taking care of ourselves at home. You have to feed your soul. Then you can come back and be more productive and creative when you return to work. -”Be loyal to yourself” - Be yourself, and out of digging into yourself, you will grow and thrive in that process. -Asking questions - “I have some ideas about that, but I want to hear your thoughts first.” Connect with Nathan: Social Media: @drlangraad Email:[email protected] Books: Instructional Coaching Connection New Book out next spring: Never Stop Asking
Episode Notes: -Student Centered Mentoring Book: Keeping Students at the Heart of New Teachers’ Learning -4 Core Beliefs for Success: Empower others to grow, Learning is Process and so is Teaching, Relying on others, and Setting Goals as well as keep trying. -Student Centered Mentoring - a collaborative approach for mentors and mentees that focuses heavily on the impact of students’ learning with layers of support. -More focus on what students are doing as opposed to the more traditional watching of what the teacher is doing. It is less evaluative. When doing observations keep the focus on the students. -Partnership is key, we can’t do our work alone. -Utilize Directional supports- to help narrow down the support for the new teachers. -Being a model of listening, another layer of support. -Use the lens of the mentor for more tips. -Natalie- “Question until you know, instead of faking it until you make it!” -Tina - As a mentor she jumped in and did a coaching cycle in order to stretch her own learning. Do the mentor cycle and be vulnerable to show the learner side. -Strength Based Feedback- thinking about how you implement it has to do with your relationship. Beware of how much clarifying you are doing. Can you celebrate? Collect good language and sentence stems to utilize in the future. -In order to retain teachers we need to have conversations with each other around, how can we help all students learn? Do we still hold those same expectations for all students? We need teacher efficacy but also collective efficacy. These should work in tandem together. -With all of these things in place it helps build our belief that we can make that impact on our kids. -To keep educators in the profession we can try out the directional supports outlined within the book. Providing many different options of support for our educators. Don’t assume, and ask the good questions. -Keep questioning as mentors, and try to be specific with those questions of support. Try to uncover the beliefs and continually check in with your mentees. -”Empower others to make and impact” -Ask questions. Connect with Amanda: Website: www.AmandaBrueggeman.com Twitter: @ACBrueggeman YouTube Videos - more coming soon
Episode Notes: -The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development by Elena Aguilar and Lori Cohen The PD Book -This book grew organically out of leading PD and reflecting on leading PD. It felt like the next thing to work on and bring to the front. -Imagining PD like a party - wanting PD to not be draining, but instead enlivening, exciting, and nourishing. What if PD could feel more like a party or a gathering or experience when you connect with people? Where are you energized? -There is so much in this book and her work that is research based. When we look at conditions that are essential for people to learn, it is psychological safety. A place where you can ask questions, or discuss, elaborate, and acknowledge things. -7 Habits that transform Professional Development -Cultivate psychological safety. - How do people interact? -Accept it or fight it. -Use the strategies and systems from within the classroom and that honor learners as students or adults. -Storytelling: An endless resource for connection and bringing people together. I often guide others in identifying their experiences in their lives to be able to relate to and tell. -A story to share with listeners: Facilitating a beginning of year retreat with conversations around equity. Elena felt, “I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this!” I was literally on the floor and at my low as a facilitator. In some ways it helps me to see my own growth and learning. To recognize the low points and to mine them for lessons, and wisdom is huge. We share these moments so others can hear I have been there. Your growth or learning is powerful. -High points: when facilitating PD. -Responsible cultivators of adult learning - 1. DeterminePurpose - why? 2. Engage Emotions 3. Navigate power 4. Anchor in adult learning 5. Design intentionally. 6. Attend for details 7. Facilitate adaptively -Conditions necessary for people to learn and understand and strategize to facilitate the learning. -Tell me more about what you are actually concerned about? -#1 question: How do you deal with resistance? Only resistance if there is force in two ways. -Resistance is a mask for fear at times. -We can make every conversation count towards a more just and equitable world! -Disposition is authenticity and transparency: Sometimes people are most moved by me saying, “I want to stop and I am feeling nervous. Can we hit pause for a second? And figure out how we move forwards? If I can be brief and honest, people appreciate this.”
Connect with Elena: Twitter: @brightmorningtm Podcast: BrightMorningPodcast Website: https://brightmorningteam.com/ Next Book Coming Soon - 2023 Art of Coaching 2.0 Book - 2023 Arise, How to Thrive as a BIPOC Educator
Season 3
Michael Bungay Stanier helps people be a force for change. He’s best known for his book The Coaching Habit which has sold over a million copies and has thousands of 5-star reviews online. His latest book How to Begin helps people be ambitious for themselves and for the world and, find their Worthy Goal, and start something thrilling, important and daunting. He founded Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that helps organizations move from advice-driven to curiosity-led. They’ve trained hundreds of thousands of managers to be more coach-like and their clients range from Microsoft to Salesforce to Gucci. Michael left Australia about 30 years ago to be a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University … where his only significant achievement was falling in love with a Canadian … which is why he now lives in Toronto, having spent time in London and Boston. Balancing out these moments of success, he was banned from his high school graduation for “the balloon incident” … was sued by one of his Law School professors for defamation … and his first published piece of writing was a Harlequin Romance-esque story involving a misdelivered letter … and called The Male Delivery Episode Notes: -Trained with CTI but also connected with coaching as a teenager with his friends as well as being a youth crisis telephone counselor. The first answer is not the only answer. -Living in England and graduating from university, discovered ‘coaching’ - intrigued and got transferred to Boston. -Called himself a coach despite not knowing everything about it. -Trained in 2000 and started a practice, didnt love coaching all the time. Then started writing books, The Coaching Habit, as well as Box of Crayons. MBS.works is also helping others be a force for change. -At a young age, Mum told him it helps if you ask a good question when interacting with girls…may be the start of it all! -How to Begin’s inspiration - Stemmed from The Advice Trap, wanted to add onto the topic. How do you actually change your behavior? It is so hard. -”We unlock our greatness by working on the hard things” - MBS. A nice restatement of an old truth. -When we go out to the edges of who you are and what you are, that is where you learn more about yourself and grow in your confidence and capacity. -How do you think about goal setting to bring out the very best in you, as well make a contribution to the world. -Worthy goal: thrilling, important, and daunting. -Cheeky cartoon- originally for The Advice Trap Book but it was not a good fit, but he still loved the character. It helped him to become the obvious guide for this book. -It is helpful to be the strongest signal in the room. -Two worthy goals: stopping being the CEO, as well as launching a podcast. -How to Begin: 3 parts, each part has three chapters Part 1: Draft and redraft your goal - examine, poke, interrogate, and redraft it. Part 2:Understand what you are committing to - When you are saying yes to a worthy goal you are saying no to other stuff. Wrestle with it for a bit and get very clear on this. Part 3: Getting you going- Crossing the threshold. What is important is that you begin the journey. Do not do it alone, and don't think it will be three big leaps and you will be there. Find support, keep working towards the best version of yourself, and keep taking small steps to make progress. -Find your right band and check out the pilot light appendix -Many goals? Hierarchy to organize your life. Prioritize. -MBS vision: Infect a billion people with the possibility virus -What is my best way to achieve this bigger vision or mission? -Aspire to one worthy goal, one great project! Tactics, strategies, project, vision, and worthy goals. - “Plans are useless but planning is useful” -Eisenhower - You are doing the planning and that is where the power lies. -So many chapters - what do I want to accomplish within each chapter? -Worthy Goal for this year- Write three books! - 2023-2024 -Stay curious a little bit longer, and rush to action and advice giving a little bit more slowly. -And what else? Because the first answer is never the only answer. -I can translate knowledge to make it feel accessible for people. Taking the abstract and translate it for you! Connect with MBS: Twitter: @mbs_works Website: MBS.works Year of Living Brilliantly - 52 weeks HowToBegin.com
Formerly a high school English teacher and a new teacher coach in Palo Alto Unified School District (Palo Alto, CA), Jennifer Abrams is currently a communications consultant and author who works with educators and others on new teacher and employee support, being generationally savvy, effective collaboration skills, having hard conversations and creating identity safe workplaces.
Jennifer’s publications include Having Hard Conversations, The Multigenerational Workplace: Communicate, Collaborate & Create Community, Hard Conversations Unpacked - the Whos, Whens and What Ifs, and Swimming in the Deep End: Four Foundational Skills for Leading Successful School Initiatives. Her newest book is Stretching Your Learning Edges: Growing (Up) at Work.
Jennifer shares her work in other mediums as a featured columnist on growth and change for Learning Forward’s The Learning Professional journal as well as contributing to The International Educator (TIE) focusing her writing on adult development and collaboration skills.
Jennifer has been invited to keynote, facilitate and coach at schools and conferences worldwide and is honored to have been named one of the “18 Women All K-12 Educators Should Know,” by Education Week’s ‘Finding Common Ground’’ blog. More about Jennifer’s work can be found at her website, www.jenniferabrams.com, and on Twitter @jenniferabrams.
Episode Notes: -High school English teacher for 9 years, then a New Teacher Coach, professional developer, Education and Communications Consultant. -Finding your voice around what matters- her mission -Coaching in its purest sense is I am a thought partner, a cheerleader, a raw fairy godmother, all in service to whatever goal that the people I am working with have, which is to support students. -Can you find your voice in a way that matters, in a humane and growth producing way? -It is about the development of the other person so that they feel more assured and grounded in how they want to make those changes. -New teachers need just in time training that is ongoing and that is an intentional experience. -There is no one thing that helps to retain new teachers or any teachers. It is more about looking at your context and the challenges that you are facing in your area, and saying how might we look at that. How do we go to the balcony to look at things with people? -Stretching Your Learning Edges: Growing Up at Work -Purposeful, ongoing support for the development of an adult in a school will be so helpful, and something that needs to be focused on. -Mrs. Kalman, “ Somebody is learning how to be a person by watching you.” -We need to keep growing and developing, we are not done! -We have credentials in how to teach, but we do not have credentials in how to talk to one another. We need to develop our skills in this area: being a coach, being a facilitator, being a team member. -We need to own our own development. -Changing arenas in education can be a tough road. -Top 5 things to remember:
Your development needs to continue. Grow Yourself!
Know your identity and how you see the world differently than others. Know my biases and limitations.
Suspend my certainty that I have it the right way. Where can I inquire more?
Be quiet. Watch and listen.
How can I be a more effective person in collaboration? How can I build up my skill set to be even more of a value add to my team members?
-Find your voice around what matters! -Be quiet: Let people talk! The pause, the pause, the pause!
Rebecca Frazier, PhD, has centered her professional career around learning and sharing how to become an effective coach in a variety of situations. When teachers feel encouragement and love as well as being supported by a technically skilled and competent coach, both the positive energy to persevere and the skills needed to meet difficult challenges are produced. This holistic way of delivering coaching, that includes a focus on personal development, benefits all involved in the process: students, teachers, coaches, and leaders. Rebecca’s doctoral research included a qualitative and quantitative study dedicated to answering the question, “What makes an effective instructional coach?” The answers she found became the foundation for her book, The Joy of Coaching: Characteristics of Effective Instructional Coaches. Her years as a classroom teacher, an instructional coach, trainer of instructional coaches, district facilitator for coaching program development, and a K–8 principal have provided her with a multi-tiered perspective of the coaching process. Rebecca sees coaching as the “go to” professional development strategy that, when delivered with warmth and power, can inspire joy and professional success. Episode Notes:-Rebecca was a substitute in K-12, became a K-12 instructional coach, was a 4th/5th grade teacher, a K-8 principal, Teachers coaching teachers program, district coach, coach and coordinator as well as a trainer of coaches.-Jim Knight’s work, What makes an effective instructional coach? Doctoral study focus and ten years as an instructional coach.-Joy of Coaching Book, Coach Happy business -Characteristics identified through research that would be helpful for coaches to incorporate into their lives and coaching practices: caring, competent, collaborative, authentic, a quality communicator, flexible, trustworthy, planned, able to provide models and inspiration. -Team of coaches who were ready to dissect what was and what was not working.-Caring and competency were needed for effective coaching -Needed intentional relationship building-Add caring practices to our coaching due to the data was showing it was needed-Processes for goal setting and progress in regards to data collection and softer skill protocols involving motivation, commitment, and connection. -Dissertation: 69 coached teachers and 70 non coached teachers. Analyzed growth in teacher competency, job satisfaction, and student growth. -Taking a risk to gather this data, but coaching teachers outperformed non coached teachers in 22 areas of instructional practice by 4 to 5 times– More growth in reading than non coached-Teachers are struggling in so many ways, we need to walk with them forward-Bite size chunks of video reflection and video coaching-New coaches, you were hired for a reason. If you have been hired as a coach you are good, don’t doubt yourself! Think back to what worked within your own classroom.-Note specific things within the classroom. Praise what you want to see more of, and bring chocolate!-Practice self compassion-Chip’s Tips- Coach Happy Inspirational Pup-Coach happy, where caring and confidence meets Connect with Rebecca:The Joy of Coaching: Characteristics of Effective Instructional Coaches Book - Corwin and Amazon Twitter- @coachhappyWebsite- coachhappy.com[email protected] Email to be added to mailing listKeynote at Simply Coaching Summit Summer 2022
Kyle Schwartz is in her tenth year of teaching, this year as a reading teacher at Doull Elementary in Denver, Colorado. Her first book,I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything for Our Kids focuses on realities that students face and how educators can respond to their students’ needs by building relationships. Her second book,I Wish For Change: Unleashing the Power of Kids to Make a Differenceis a guide for educators, families, and mentors to help young people find a personal sense of power and use it to better their communities. In addition to teaching, Kyle is a dedicated advocate for students. She has spoken nationally and internationally about supporting all students, differentiating instruction for students learning English, building strong classroom communities, and helping young people create change. Episode Notes:-Unlikely teacher, grew up hating school, who became her arch-nemesis, an elementary school teacher. But wanted to provide an experience she never had for students after falling in love with tutoring as well as teaching and learning.-The ‘I Wish My Teacher Knew’ lesson went viral on Twitter - “I wish my teacher knew I did not have pencils at home to do my homework with”- grew into an international movement.-Wrote the book, I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything for Our Kids as well as I WIsh For Change: Unleashing the Power of Kids to Make a Difference.-The truth and vulnerability of seeing the words in kids’ handwriting struck a chord with educators.-Kids pulled her to share with the class, kids were invited and not required to share notes, the power of community building came through. One child said, “I wish my teacher knew that I did not have friends to play with.” Yet, the students banded around this child and built connections with her.-Kids are experts on childhood, we must understand that expertise. They are problem solvers and will engage with one another.One student never shared, but later spoke to Kyle that she never knew other people’s parents were divorced. She saw herself in others and was able to build empathy through this practice.-Teachers, we see you and all you are juggling right now.-Have the courage to value all the things that are not being measured on a rubric right now: the relationships, the empathy, the connections - respond to what kids give you and hold sacred those times.- A shift in education to meet kids where they are and look at the whole child.-Impact story: trying this lesson, other strategies, and how kids take it over, as well as other industries all the way to the Vice-Admiral of the U.S. Coast Guard!-We are a nudge in children’s lives!-” Be the nudge you wish to see in the world!”-” Notice what kids want you to see and be really thoughtful about noticing that.”-Find the connection with kids!-Let kids be experts no matter what, build one on one connections!-Tips:-Make it about the community in any way you can. Kids have to be vulnerable, so you should too. Be honest with kids about mandated reporting. Be honest with kids, Give them options about how they participate or add their name or share, serious or silly. Really round it out with community too and building connections and caring. Connect with Kyle:Instagram: @KylemschwartzTwitter: @Kylemschwartz
Becca Silver is the founder and CEO of The Whole Educator. She is a highly energetic and knowledgeable trainer who approaches leadership development with transformational coaching skills and strategies. Becca is a former educator, instructional coach, life coach and executive coach. Her training programs and customized one-on-one coaching work focuses on fostering teacher buy-in and bridging knowledge gaps between leadership and staff. She believes that, when coaching teachers, adult mindsets and motivations matter. The Teachers S.T.A.Y. Program is a group coaching, cohort-based 6 module program for school coaches. It systematically builds coaches' skills to understand and impact teachers' underlying motivations and mindsets that impact their behavior, buy-in, trust and resilience. This immersive program does not "add another thing onto the plate" of coaches. To inquire about a school or district-based cohort, message [email protected]. Episode Notes: -Educators and coaches are whole humans beings. We want to coach and lead them as whole human beings. -The Whole Educator.com -Teachers as diverse learners -Top tips for supporting new educators: identify the speed of approaching growth and change, spend time listening to their concerns and build trust, and look for limiting beliefs or mindsets. -Treat others the way they want to be treated. -Use active listening or reflective listening, reflect back what they are saying. -Identify why they teach, what motivates them, and measure against that each day. -Embrace your why -Sorting needs: content knowledge, skills, or mindset issues. -Utilize the mindset that people are diverse and complex, build trust authentically, treat people how they want to be treated. -Assess what they need so you can individualize professional development. -Mindsets and Motivations Matter -Hear the limiting beliefs Connect with Becca: [email protected] Twitter: @BeccaSilver_edu
This episode is a compilation of ‘Dear Coach Letters’ for you to enjoy and to help wrap up this year right for all our favorite coaches! Hear from our special guests: Adam Geller Website:https://www.edthena.com/ Twitter:@edthena Suzy Evans Twitter:@SuzannahEvans2 Betsy Ball Twitter:@1BetsyBall Mary Phillips Twitter:@growinglearners Dr. Sean Corey Twitter:@LegacyElem David Baker Twitter:@David63Baker Miriam Guerrero Cheuk Website: www.EmpowermentCoachingMC.com Instagram: EmpowermentCoachingMC Linkdin: Miriam Guerrero Cheuk Twitter:@MiriamCheuk Clubhouse EmpowermentMC
Karen Smith is an Elementary Language Arts Coordinator in St. Vrain Valley School District and is Cognitive Coach trained.
Episode Notes: -Model of coaching to onboard for literacy depends on the individual she is coaching and the context. -Pull from Jim Knight’s Impact Cycle - Identify, Learn, and Improve -Minimum Skills Competencies - What do our Students need to know, understand and be able to do. -Elevation, refinement and improvement of instruction. -Observation protocols -Cognitive Coaching - conversations around goals and practice being the mediator of thinking -Diane Sweeney’s Student Centered Coaching - Data driven coaching process around student work - needs to cultivate, look at data, talk about practice, and engage in teaching and learning cycle -What is the most high leverage model to impact practice? -All components of Scarbrough’s Reading rope are vital and teachers understand the synthesis of all of the components. Word recognition and language comprehension rungs are interconnected. We are cultivating the synthesis between all components and owning the science of reading. -Support in the pandemic is acknowledging the work is hard right now. Opportunity to talk about high yield instructional practices -Learning did happen last year, honor that. -3 stages of Literacy proficiency: 1. MultiSensory instruction 2. Knowledge Stage 3. Automaticity Stage -Are their literacy skills transferable? -Being able to coach and mediate another person's thinking brings her to her core. -Impact teams story 5th grade -Coach, Collaborator, and Consult - intentional as to when and how we navigate these roles. -The future relies in the science of reading and giving time for shifts in practice. -Stay present in the moment, remain present in that moment! -Pause, paraphrase, and pose a question
Connect with Karen: Twitter: @smithkaren51
Dr. Paul Bloomberg is the Founder and CEO of the Core Collaborative Learning Network based in San Diego, CA and New York City. The mission of the Core Collaborative Learning Network is to expand learner ownership and agency through building a culture of belonging and efficacy through collaborative inquiry.
Dr. Bloomberg is the co-author of the best-selling book, Leading Impact Teams: Building a Culture of Efficacy, a lead author of Peer Power! Unite, Learn and Prosper: Activate an Assessment Revolution through Mimi and Todd Press and a lead author on The EmpowerED Learner eToolkit. Paul has led multiple, successful school turn-around efforts and believes that public education must play a major role in deconstructing systems of oppression.
Episode Notes: -Formative Assessment Expert started as a Band Director and Musical Performance specialty. -Dr. Shelby Wolf - Children’s Literature -Leading Impact Teams Building a Culture of Efficacy with Barb Pitchford -Collective work of many coaches going in and seeing that on some teams one member may be doing most of the work, looking to create collective efficacy. It was always about what the teacher was doing, where the focus should be learner centered. -At the center of everything needs to be the learner -Formative assessment is a process, not a product and something that you partner with learners in. -Take kids for who they are, see their potential, and we do anything to set ambitious goals with our kids and have clarity about what success looks like. -Impact Teams: Teams of educators that partner with students and families. They innovate to expand student ownership. They scale their collective expertise to make a difference for all. -Inviting parents into this process and into the protocols - Partnering in this process -Impact teams work has grown across the world. -Focus on the strengths- appreciative inquiry into the strengths they already have. -Partnership principles - Jim Knight -Coaches can help scale this important work -Takes time to do this work well and have quality implementation. Use your feedback loops -If you trust the kids they will always lead the way -“If you trust the students, they will always lead the way!” - Paul & Mimi Erickson -Look for the positive in others- strengths finder approach
Connect with Paul: Twitter: @bloomberg_paul YouTube: The Core Collaborative TheCoreCollaborative.com
Kathy Perret is an instructional coaching consultant and co-author of The Coach Approach to School Leadership (ASCD 2017) and Compassionate Coaching (ASCD 2021). As the founder of Kathy Perret Consulting, she empowers school leaders, instructional coaches, and classroom teachers in their professional growth. With over 30 years of experience in the field, Kathy hosts onsite and virtual professional learning for educators across the world. Educators directly impact student growth and performance, and Kathy is dedicated to improving experiences and outcomes for both adults and kids. She believes everyone deserves a coach - and that includes teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders! Find out more at https://www.kathyperret.org/. Kathy is also the co-founder of the longest-running Twitter chat for Instructional Coaches. Join #educoach every Wednesday at 8 pm CST. You can find Kathy on Twitter @KathyPerret. Kenny McKee is the co-author, along with Kathy Perret, of the 2021 ASCD title, Compassionate Coaching: How to Help Educators Navigate Barriers to Professional Growth. He currently works as a Content Designer for NWEA. Kenny has also served as a social media and professional learning consultant with Student Achievement Partners. Kenny’s coaching experience comes from working as a high literacy and instructional coach for eleven years in Asheville, NC. Kenny is a National Board Certified Teacher who has taught middle school and high school English language arts. He has also taught reading courses for college students in teacher preparation programs. He has authored educational blog posts for Student Achievement Partners, SmartBrief, Virtual Job Shadow, Sibme, TeachThought, and NEA. In 2014, Kenny was selected as an ASCD Emerging Leader, and he is still an active member in ASCD’s Emerging Leaders affiliate.
Tyler Tarver, Ed.S is the Dean of NLC College. Tyler speaks at conferences across the country on various topics related to teaching, administration, efficiency, technology, social media, and culture. He has amassed over 14 million views on YouTube and 60k subscribers. Tyler is a Dean of an HBCU College located in Arkansas. He also created and maintains TarverAcademy.com, where he helps students/teachers with math, tech, and an assortment of educational needs. He's written 3 books, produces podcasts, made award winning short films, is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Innovator, Google Certified Trainer, Google Level 1 & 2 Educator, Apple Foundations Certified Trainer, Google Forms Expert Team Member, has been featured on PBS, and also been featured on Tosh.0 four times. He's been a teacher, facilitator, principal, and Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Communications, Personnel, and Technology. Tyler loves teaching students, helping teachers, and building community and conversation around improving and innovating education to help students. Episode Notes:
We spoke to the charismatic Tyler Tarver about his experience in education, speaking, and also engaging other educators to support them in any way he can!
Being a maker, but how do you become a person who spreads resources. The resources find the people who need it.
Baller Teacher Playbook
Engagement: What makes kids check out? Why do they stop watching a video? Two reasons they check out: A. They are confused about what is happening or they don’t see how it applies to them?
Flipped classroom to meet students needs, starting with an iPod then moving to YouTube
Keep producing what you love, start making content, keep producing content
Broaden your PLN- Find the place that suits you, engage and connect with others. Join the conversation.
“Stop trying to get a seat at a table, instead go and start building your own table”
We talk to Dr. Diane Lauer, Dr. Sean Corey, Kelly Addington, Mandy Warren, and Nicholas Meyer to reflect back on the last year of coaching and teaching to hold onto our new learnings. We analyze a year of pandemic learning and pull our the positives that we want to pull forward to next years teaching.
Episode Notes: Teacher’s Perspective: Explore various learning models from this year: in person, hybrid, online, and online all year and our own growth as educators. Students’ growth in self reflection, creativity, and self advocacy. “We can’t choose what happens to us in this world, but we can choose what kind of people we are going to be. We are going to be strong and brave.” Shared vulnerability and increased compassion Intentionality with technology Renaissance of teaching Coaching parents and teammates - active listening Coaching behind the scenes: support, validation, checking in, and growing towards thriving. Learning Coach’s Perspective: Draw from relationships- build upon Shared vulnerability- model as a coach Vary the type of coaching as needed Not a clear coaching map States of Mind - growth in flexibility Intentional reflection Administrator Perspective: Reality of the last year Change models essential for systemic change Focused goals - time bound - accelerate and deploy support Intentional use of times and supports Listening to the individual, whole group Keep the focus the focus Time is a gift. Educators are heroes and we need to not take anything for granted. Trust, rapport, and then get to the focus Video coaching - Webex, Edthena, phone - reflection space Innovation across the system - not bound by time or space, they meet more and are more cohesive Innovation = clarity of purpose/shared sense of purpose One pandemic per lifetime Take nothing for granted moving forward Bring our new instructional practices and innovation forward into the coming years
Connect with Dr. Diane Lauer Twitter:@MrsLauer Connect with Dr. Sean Corey Twitter:@LegacyElem Connect with Kelly Addington Twitter:@MrsKellyAddington Connect with Mandy Warren Twitter:@4thwmrswarren Connect with Nicholas Meyer Twitter:@meyer4th
Sherry St. Clair is the author of Coaching Redefined and founder of Reflective Learning LLC, an educational consulting agency based in Kentucky. Her organization works with schools across the country, creating specialized training and coaching services for school administrators and educators.
Episode Notes:
We talk to Sherry St Clair around her experiences as an instructional coach ,administrator, and her strategies for coaching in various capacities.
3 Big Pieces to Coaching: strong relationships, leadership aspect/building leaders, content
The more alignment we have as a system the more success we will have in meeting our goals.
Coaches need to see themselves as leaders.
Positivity in coaching and being mindful of coaching humans. Focus the conversation on the positive so that they can progress forward.
Why do people change? Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose -Daniel Pink
Teachers do not need fixing ,we need positive feedback.
Coaching Groups: Have protocols in place, equal voices, grow the group together, and growing leaders in the group.
“In classrooms we want to see students doing the thinking and the work, in coaching we want teachers doing the thinking and the work. It doesn't have to be all on our shoulders.”
Measuring impact: Look at how well that organization is growing together, listening, building leaders, depth of questions, and achievement scores.
“Strive to see the strength in others!”
From Finding Nemo: Just keep swimming Connect with Sherry St Clair
Miriam Guerrero Cheuk is a certified Life and Leadership Professional Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation and is currently working towards her Master Certified Coaching (MCC) Accreditation and is the founder of EmpowermentCoachingMC.com. We talk to Miriam about the power of coaching in education.
She shares her values around deep relationship building, trust, self care, and enhancing instruction.
Miriam provides a wealth of ideas on how to build a coaching culture, tips for building your coaching PLN, as well as how to leverage digital tools to meet educators where they are at this time.
“Coaching is a process not an event. It is being a think partner and catalyst for change and growth in others.”
“Coaching is a live giving conversation. When we empower others we build their confidence, efficacy, and autonomy.”
“The quality of the relationship is congruent with the quality of the results of the outcomes.”
“The most effective coaching is really the one that goes under the iceberg. We don’t just coach behaviors, we coach the values, we coach the beliefs, the needs, the ways of being because that is truly what drives behaviors.”
Increasing capacity and reducing dependency while meeting the coachee where they are.
“Surround yourself with people who bring you light and inspire you”- PLN
3 Ps- paraphrasing, pausing, and posing evocative questions
Use metaphors to make things come alive and can make complex things simple.
Adam Geller is the author of "Evidence of Practice: Playbook for Video-Powered Professional Learning" and the founder of Edthena. He started his career in education as a science teacher in St. Louis, Missouri, and since 2011 Adam has overseen the evolution of Edthena from a paper-based prototype into a research-informed and patented platform used by schools, districts, teacher training programs, and professional development providers. Adam has written on education technology topics for various publications including Education Week, Forbes, and edSurge, and he has been an invited speaker about education technology and teacher training for conferences at home and abroad.
We talk to Adam Geller around how to video coaching and how best to build this practice with your educators.
“Don’t do video to teachers” - Adam Geller
Many ways to integrate video especially in COVID times. How can we leverage our video platform recordings to elevate practice.
Tagline: “How are your doing? , really?”
Super Power: “ Is there anything else I can be helpful with?” “Are there any questions I should ask that I do not
Delia E. Racines, Ph.D., has over sixteen years of experience teaching, coaching, consulting, and serving as an assistant principal and principal with K-12 and university level educators in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Racines helps educators apply research-based instructional strategies to make meaning of data and narrow achievement gaps. Delia has supported the transition of department chairs to Instructional Coaches through tailored modules and was awarded the prestigious Shirley Hord Award with Learning Forward. She also has her own consulting firm where she coaches coaches around the country. Episode Notes: We talk to Delia E. Racines, Ph.D. about her coaching journey. Every coach needs a coach. Listen for the request in the complaint. Connect with Delia E. Racines,Ph.D. Website: https://www.frominsighttoequity.com/ Twitter: @Dr_D_R